Talk:The Peasant and the Devious/@comment-3041875-20170206011617
Another standout episode of the series, guys, joining the likes of 112, 201 and 210. The Good – Good teaser, setting the episode's story, with Silvia trying to kill Rochelle at the end of it. The flashbacks on a whole were all great, with nice cameos from former mains, including Matthew. Ben's interview was quite amusing, with him being deserted by Ali and Joey, left to be interviewed by no one until Jose appears (who, by the way, was so lazy it made me quite pleased he was going to be meeting his demise soon). The origin of how Justine came to call Rena, "Pig", was also pretty funny. Joe being told his mother has cancer was a good scene, and I like how that added to his desire to find out about his biological mother. I then liked all the butlers working together to capture Silvia, and using Rochelle as bait. While not as captivating as the mystery last season, I'll admit, many parts of the reveal were very good, such as Silvia having been one of Jorgio's prisoners, as well as Lily, who saved Joe, the son of Jorgio. It all made perfect sense once Silvia started talking. Overall, it provided Joe with a very dark and original origin story which is great. Rochelle really was the villain of the story (other than Jorgio), so Aliza kicking her out was good, giving some comeuppance. Overall, I'm very happy with Joe's story this season. It logically connects to what we understand from season one, and has good consequences going into the third season, with him having a sibling to find and the potential for Silvia to return. It's been very easy to feel for him this season, uncovering his past, his relationship with Jo and his desire to find out about the town's mysteries. While it may not have been the most exciting, I appreciate that the Juan plot made Josh realise Brad is the only man for him. The church scene, with the vows, the friends weeping, Rena's makeup running and then the arrival of Val and Selena was all excellent. I'm glad Selena perished; it's more fitting she was a seasonal character, because I hoped that the recurrence of the rather political references of this season were more of a seasonal theme. I like the cliff-hanger, though Brad was a bit of an idiot for going back inside after Selena said everyone was going to burn (Is he new to town? Does he not know what's prone to happening to churches?), though I really hope he survives, otherwise it rather undermines Josh's plot this season, unless you have another interesting way forward for him, that involves everything he's taken from his relationship with Brad and everything else he's learned over the course of the season. Josh has been far better characterised this season than last, and it's been far easier to feel for him due to the stories he's had this season, so I congratulate you for the improvement. Obviously, I knew Val was going to get pregnant, since Joe said the rape was setting up her revenge. I liked it. It was surprising, and a good way to keep Val around. All season, I really thought Val was just going to meet her end this season, after she finally executed some revenge plot that would just get foiled by the butlers, because I just didn’t really see a way she could have a revenge plot that'd take us into a third season. That would have been pretty inconsequential and anticlimactic, but I was wrong. She's given Ben a second chance to be a father, but in a pretty torturous way. It's great because it's a revenge that immediately has us feeling for Ben, seeing as how the death of his child has been a pain he's been dealing with all series, and has great consequence because there's so many different ways this plot could go, and whichever way it does, it'll tell us a great deal about Ben's character. I still think Val could have been smarter and more patient about her revenge the rest of the season, as I didn’t enjoy the petty fights for Ali's attention near the beginning of the season, or for the rape last episode, but I'm going into next season very excited about this story, about how it'll change their dynamics and what could come from it. Selena getting involved in the plot made sense, and I figured it was her Val was talking to within a couple of sentences which speaks quite amusingly about Selena's character. It's fitting that when Jo feels comfortable enough to be herself to Joe, that's when Nadia then strikes (if that is indeed how Nadia knew Jo was Emilie and if Nadia did leave Jo the knife). It's quite tragic, with Jo revealing her burn mark, which makes her identifiable; it's as if, Nadia could only come to ruin everything once Jo had found happiness. Whether I'm right or wrong about that, I'm very excited for the arrival of Nadia in present-day, and have been since 210. Ben defending Ali to Silvia was a very nice moment, but it's hard to take seriously the statement in his flashback that he becomes Ali's closest friend, considering their relationship this season. Ali sticking up for Ben outside the church was nice, and hopefully an indication that things in this regard are improving. But, overall, this season, the friendship has felt very one-sided, with Ben trying hard to please and comfort her, and Ali being downright rude. Hopefully, we're on the way to things getting better and more reflecting their season one relationship. Liz (yes that's right, she has her own section in the good, and no, I didn’t place it here by accident) giving up on attempts at Ben's name near the beginning of the episode was amusing. Then, her actually remembering Ben's name by the end of the episode was (hopefully) a nice subtle hint that she is indeed changing. While it was hard to sympathise with her struggle of having to get a job, at least she chose not to leach off Ali, recognising that wouldn't set foundations for any solid relationship or grant her any respect. Eli coming to forgive her and then seeing her with Ali was a good moment, as I briefly felt for both characters. Observations - Juan claims that after marrying Josh he'll be an official U.S. citizen, but you can't actually apply for citizenship until three years after marriage, though it does stop you from being deported. Joe would have to prove he's Silvia's son to admit her to a mental asylum, which would probably be difficult considering the circumstances of his birth. I don’t know if this is a complaint, because usually villains just spill out everything when they have the hero of the story hostage, which is also quite repetitive, but to have Joe force the truth out of Silvia was a little repetitive of just last episode when he and Aliza forced it from Rochelle. Either way you'd have been in danger of being similar to Justine's reveal last season or Rochelle's reveal last episode, so I sympathise, but I think with this way you robbed the story of the tension earlier then you could have. During Justine's reveal last season, she was holding a gun to the butlers, so I was tense throughout, wondering how everything was going to play out. This time, with Silvia already caught, and confessing everything as a prisoner, I was too relaxed, because it felt the danger was all already over, and all that was left was to hear how things fit together; it made it less captivating. Silvia did, however, break free and attempt to kill Rochelle, so at least the tension was brought back, even if briefly. While I really did like how everything fit together, including the twist that Silvia was Joe's mother, and Lily was his saviour, and how they had been Jorgio's prisoners, and put there by Rochelle, I already mentioned that the mystery's revelations weren't as impactful as last season. While, with the reveal over Justine's motivations, I actually felt quite shocked, this season, I more just felt satisfied at how things connected together. I think the revelation would have had more impact, perhaps, if Silvia had bonded more with Joe and had more presence within the second half of the season. I don’t, however, feel comfortable putting any of these complaints in the bad, because I enjoyed the story during the whole episode and generally thought everything was pretty good. The Bad – Actually, there was only one scene I didn’t very much enjoy, and it was the scene of all the women together. Their dialogue was far less natural than what we get in the scenes of all the butlers together and less enjoyable to read because it was mostly just forced attempts to insult each other. They often went OTT with the rudeness and the jokes just got old fast (though I did like some of them, like about Rochelle's fake paralysis). But for example, everyone taking a turn (except Ali) to insult Selena, including Joanna pointing out that Selena thinks they're friends, was a little too much. Liz getting insulted over the joke at Ali's expense was pretty hypocritical, also, seeing as how she made a similar joke only a couple of episodes ago (209). Best Butler – Best butler of the episode is definitely Joe, because all the mystery revelations surrounding him were great, and I'm looking forward to how things progress next season. Josh is a close second as I really like how the Juan plot has made him realise Brad is his true love, and I'm also really excited about Ben's plot going into next season. Rena, however, I don’t think truly did that much this episode. Best butler of the season is again, definitely Joe, because how he's dealt with all the mysteries, and his relationship with Joanna has all been very engaging and entertaining throughout. I think Rena is a close second, as he's been the most amusing this season, and his characterisation remains very strong, while his plot with Kristi was very good, and his workings towards becoming a star have been very entertaining, though Josh has also been very good with his relationship with Brad and with his own desires and motivations much more directly driving his plots, far more so than last season. Ben has undoubtedly been my least favourite this season, which is a shame because I thought he was the strongest last season. While his characterisation remains mostly very strong (despite some annoying and petty arguments with Val in the beginning of the season over Ali's attention), I just haven’t largely enjoyed his stories, but really hope next season things will improve. Other Mains – Along with the butlers, Joanna remains the strongest character, from getting her own centric episode this season, being so well characterised, having the most influence on the plots and being the easiest to feel for. Ali, once my favourite last season and in 201, has been mostly unlikeable to me this season, but I hope that improves, and Liz has had quite a few ups and downs this season, though I'm hopeful, if she continues developing positively like in this episode, then I will come to like her more. In regard to the new additions this season, Rochelle has been the strongest, intriguing all season and constantly amusing (though the most amusing character of the season was Selena). I still think that after all the attention and build-up the body in the attic got, that was disappointing, but I loved her part in the final, including the revelations over her past with Silvia. Brad has also been a great addition, creating a great story for Josh, and has generally been very likeable throughout, and Eli has played his part fine, creating conflict for Rena and Liz, though he's probably the least interesting of the mains. Lastly, Val has been the story I enjoyed least this season, but I like how it panned out this episode and I'm excited for where it can go next season. Overall – Outstanding episode, guys, and excellent season. I'm very satisfied with how everything came together and I'm looking forward to a lot of things next season. Overall, I think this season was a lot stronger than last season, having a very solid premiere, and being pretty captivating and consistent throughout, while the characterisation of the butlers was all far stronger, and their personal stories and journeys were mostly far more entertaining and interesting. If you care to know, the average episode score I gave this season was 8.4, which is higher than three seasons of OUaV (1, 2 and 4), and I loved OUaV, so that is, very, very good.